Across the Line
by Ready Or Notxx
Summary: Working at Spectral Sightings terrifies Specs... But he's passionate about what he does, especially when he's with two people who can keep him calm. Oneshot, long drabble.


Jiggybear, you bastard. You were the very first one to write here. XD Although I am rather proud of you… Anyhow, everyone, this is just a short drabble. No pairing, no slash (yes, that's weird for me). Just a drabble about my little Specs. And an announcement—JigsawsDead and I have both decided to be Specs for Halloween. Oh yes, there will be nerds. (:

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**Across the Line**

Specs is terrified.

Every day, he wakes up, terrified. His job at Spectral Sightings is what causes him to be this way. He's always been afraid of the paranormal and what lies inside of it, because there are things you can't see, things you can't control, because that's just out of his reach and out of his doing.

Tucker does help him be less afraid, though. Tucker's the stronger of the two. Don't get me wrong—he's probably just as afraid as Specs, but it's not as evident. Not as profound. And no matter what they argue about, Tucker does more than "bring something to the table." Does more than just stroll in with his equipment and look great. The truth is, without Tucker, Specs wouldn't be able to do all of this by himself.

He saw them when he was asleep, and tonight wasn't any different. Ghosts, demons, entities, all circling around him and pulling at his shirt, begging Specs to stay with them. Because the world of The Further is cruel, cruel and cold, and there's no friendship there. If you're a ghost, you stay off-radar. If you're a demon, you're top-dog, and you'll do anything to find a suitable host body. At least, that's what Elise has said before. It's not like Specs can travel into another dimension with his astral body, no, he's never been able to do that sort of thing.

But he certainly doesn't envy those who have that special ability.

He'd rather be safe here, in his physical body, where no one can possess him. Where demons aren't constantly chasing and snapping at his heels in the same heartbeat.

He saw them again tonight in his head. Chasing again. Their angry faces, their distorted and corrupted motives. The drawings he's done of previous entities enter his head over and over. How could something like that exist?

Specs awakes with a jolt, breathing hard and digging the heels of his hands into his blurry eyes. When he pulls them away, they're wet with salty tears. This is what happens when you work at Spectral Sightings. Specs is passionate about his work, don't you dare get him wrong, but it still horrifies the shit out of him. When you're dealing with an unknown force, you never know what will happen to you.

Specs rolls over onto his stomach and reaches for his glasses on the nightstand, more or less hissing the breath out of his mouth. Next to the shiny black plastic spectacles lay a pink Post-It note. Specs slides one his glasses and picks it up, sitting up in bed.

_Gone to visit Elise. – Tucker_

Elise. Their deity. Their main reason for Spectral Sightings being so successful. Without the medium, what would they really be? Her wisdom and powers stretch so far beyond Specs and Tucker's, while all Specs does is stand there with the flashlight and tremble, Tucker standing in front of him with a determined face and an even larger flashlight. Without Elise, none of this would be possible.

Specs pulls on his jeans—jeans today, it's his day off—and stands up, beginning to make his bed. Tucker should be back soon. That's something to look forward to. Smiling to himself happily, Specs takes the pillows off of the small bed. Maybe they'll watch a movie together. Horror, because that's Tucker's favorite. Specs prefers action or comedy over anything, but he'll let Tucker pick the movie. Maybe he should call Elise to invite her as well. Then, instead of being stressed over the horrifying entities, they'll be able to relax as friends, sharing popcorn and laughing at how terrible some horror movies are.

After successfully making the bed, Specs picks his cell phone up off of his dresser and removes it from the charger. He dials Elise's number, forgetting to call her cell. He's always been pretty bad about that, and Elise constantly has to remind him to call her on her cell. She's never been one of those people who enjoys mixing her personal life with her business life, and even if they're in Spectral Sightings together, this is a personal call.

The ringing tone sounds for what seems to be an everlasting measure of time.

Finally, Elise's voice-mail.

"_You've reached Spectral Sightings. There is no one currently available to answer your call, but please leave a voice-mail stating your situation and we'll get back to you as soon as time allows. Thank you."_

Specs shrugs and almost calls Elise's cell, but is thwarted by the vibration of his phone in his palm. _Tucker, _he realizes, answering and holding the phone to his ear. "Hey, Tuck. What's going on? I was wondering if—"

"Specs!" Tucker's distraught, frantic as he cuts his partner off. Specs feels the all-too-cold chill that runs up his spine at Tucker's alarmed tone. He stiffens as he responds to his friend.

"What? What's going on?" Something's wrong. He can feel it. He knows it.

"I went to Elise's house and she wasn't there."

"Okay?"

"I called her cell, and she didn't answer, but a few minutes afterwards, I got a call from Renai Lambert."

Renai. Renai who Specs had only seen the night before, relaxed after finally pulling her son and husband back into the physical world, beautiful but sad Renai. What was the problem? After Dalton and Josh had returned, Elise had told Specs and Tucker to go ahead and head home, that she was proud of them for a job well-done. She would have to stay and see if there were still any entities lingering, and she would find her way home later.

That was the last time Specs and Tucker had seen her.

Spec's heart stops in his chest when Tucker breathes out the next words.

"She said… She found Elise dead."

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What's this? A cliffhanger? I don't really use much of these anymore. XD However, I'm pretty proud of this. Even though it's longer than I wanted it to be. Cheers to Insidious! :D


End file.
